Bittersweet
by Lena108
Summary: Sets of drabbles for 50gravi on Livejournal. Taki X Maiko pairing. 9th chapter up. Star.
1. Lamp

_Chance_

_  
_**Author: **Lily**  
Rating: **PG**  
Warnings:** Taki's potty mouth. **  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Gravitation, Shindou Maiko, Taki Aizawa or anything affiliated with the three. They are all © Maki Murakami.**  
Summary: **Taki and Maiko meet by chance under a streetlamp near NG.

* * *

Taki grumbled and hurried along the darkened road. He had been near the NG office building, but upon thinking about it, he didn't want to be seen anywhere near there, especially by Seguchi Tohma. He'd wanted to pay the man back for what he'd done to him: humiliated him and tried to kill him. Taki glared down at the sidewalk as he quickened his pace to a run. He turned the corner to emerge in the light of a flickering streetlamp when a young girl did just the same from the opposite direction and ran straight into him. Taki stumbled back, but the girl hit the floor.

"Shit, girl, watch where you're going!" Taki snapped.

"I'm sorry!" the girl looked up at him. She looked horribly familiar. From a bad dream perhaps… maybe a good one. Taki hesitated a moment, trying to think of whether he wanted to help her up or not. Finally, he reached his hand out to her. She smiled gratefully and took it, allowing him to help her up.

"Don't worry about it," he told her, running a hand through his hair. "What are you doing out so late anyway?"

"I was coming to visit my brother… I know it's late but I can never catch him in the daytime, so I figured if I tried at night…" she frowned, suddenly, either because of the look that appeared on Taki's face or she too realized how ridiculous her plan sounded. "I'm sorry… I should be going now."

"Heh… right. Good luck," he told her, giving her a slight nod before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Um… if you don't mind my asking… what were you doing out so late too?" Apparantly she'd changed her mind about leaving.

"Me? I wanted to take a walk," he lied, shrugging nonchalantly. "I just asked you because you're still a kid, aren't you?"

"I am not!" she told him indignantly. "I'm eighteen now! I'm allowed to be out this late!"

"Oh, sorry," he said, not feeling very sorry at all. "You look younger than that."

"That's okay," she gave him a smile that also looked very familiar. "I get that a lot. I guess it's better to look young than look old."

"Yeah, I guess so," he shrugged once again, suddenly trying to find a topic of conversation. "So what's your name, kid?"

"I'm Maiko," she said proudly. "And I told you, I'm not a kid!"

"You're a kid to me," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"So you're an old timer, huh?" He frowned slightly and blinked, unable to find a comeback to that. She blushed slightly and apologized once again before changing the topic back to the one he'd picked. "What's your name?"

"You mean you haven't heard of me?" he asked her, puffing out his chest. Of course she hadn't. Seguchi had wiped his band off the map, he remembered bitterly.

"Sorry… no…" she bit her lip and studied him. "Should I?"

"Whatever. I guess not anyway," he said with a sigh. "Aizawa Taki. Lead singer of ASK?"

"Oh! Yeah! I saw you guys in concert once!" she declared with a smile. That surprised him greatly. Not so much that she saw them, but that she remembered.

"Did you really? That's cool."

"Yeah," she smiled a little bit wider and turned down the path she'd been running from. "I think it's getting pretty late. I should probably get home." Taki nodded and hesitated a moment, debating with himself. Finally, as she'd started walking away, he called out to stop her.

"Erm… Maiko-san," he reached out and involuntarily grabbed her arm. She turned to him with the same smile she'd been wearing seconds before she'd turned away.

"Hm?" she regarded him with curiosity.

"You want me to walk you home? It's late and it would suck if anything happened to you, you know?" He ran a hand through his hair, feeling rather ridiculous about asking her that. He hardly knew her. Nevertheless, she seemed to sense his need for company at the present moment and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks," she told him, leading him away from the flickering lamp. "I could always use someone to protect me." She giggled and dragged him into the darkness.


	2. Darkness

Unexpected Comfort

**Author** Lily

**Prompt** #18 – Darkness

**Rating **PG

**Summary **The moments directly following Taki's unfortunate 'fall' into the street.

* * *

"Have a nice life, Aizawa-san…" Tohma Seguchi's cool voice rang in Taki's ears as a hand reached out to push him. He stumbled back, right into the headlights of an oncoming car. NG's president smirked and turned to walk away from the scene. Whoever was in the car had stopped only inches before hitting Taki and, after a while, drove around him. The man was left sitting in the middle of the road, still quivering in fear.

Quite some time passed, and despite the fact that no other cars had decided to take a detour down the road, Taki was still sitting there, holding his head and sitting in the darkness as though there were a line of cars just waiting to run him over. There were no cars. However, a young girl had started walking down the street not too long beforehand. She had been working a bit late and was taking a shortcut home. She spotted the singer sitting in the middle of the road and made her way over to him, a deep frown crossing her features.

"Um… hello… what are you doing?" Taki hardly noticed her presence as she approached. Once she spoke, however, he glanced over at her, though he didn't move from his spot in the middle of the road.

"He tried to kill me…" The girl frowned and seemed to glance around.

"Um… maybe you should get some help… at least let's get off the road…" She put a hand on his arm to help him up and Taki couldn't help but lean into it. She was warm, and he liked that, seeing as the night air was cold. He allowed her to help him up and pull him toward the bus stop on the sidewalk. She helped him sit down there before sitting next to him. "There… I really hope you're all right. Sitting there in the road is pretty dangerous…"

"He pushed me… he tried to kill me… there was a car there…" Taki shook his head, but leaned up against her, enjoying the warmth she provided. The girl's frown only deepened as she draped an arm over his shoulder, providing him with more protection from the darkness. And that was all he needed at the moment.


	3. Ignorance

_Ignorance is Bliss_

**By** Lily

**Rating **PG-13 (Ken has a potty mouth)

**Summary** Taki gets a small lesson on carefully choosing girlfriends.

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"So, the new girlfriend—what's she like?" Ma-kun asked, swirling his beer around in the glass.

"What?" Taki frowned, glancing over at his grinning bandmates. He had to wonder how they did that.

"You've been acting all dreamy al week," Ma pointed out. "Come on, Tachi, who's the lucky girl?"

"How do you know I have a girlfriend?" he demanded, defensively.

"You mean it's a boyfriend?" Ma asked, a little too eagerly, smirking.

"No!" Taki snapped, his face flushing with anger.

"What's wrong with telling us about your girlfriend then?" Ken asked, his brows creasing into a frown.

"She's… a little young…" Taki admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"…How young is a little young?"

"She, um… just turned seventeen?" Taki shrugged his shoulders, managing to look sheepish. Ma's eyes widened and Ken let out a low whistle.

"Fuck…"

"Holy shit, man," Ma stated. "She's jailbait!"

"I know! I know! Shut up!" Taki glared at him, his cheeks still flushed a light pink color.

"Hey, chill out. We won't call the cops on you or anything," Ma told him. "_We_ still need you around." Before Taki could yell at him again, he went on speaking. "So, can we get a picture or something?"

"Yeah," Taki sighed softly, pulling out his wallet. He flipped through it for a second before pulling out a small photo and handing it to his two bandmates. His cheeks flushed a deeper shade as they rose their eyebrows. "What?"

"Fuck, man…" Ken shook his head.

"You do that on purpose?" Ma asked.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Taki demanded.

"Look…" Ma handed him back the picture. "Who does she look like?" Taki made a face at him, but glanced at the photo. He studied it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know… who?"

"Oh, man…" Ken laughed.

"Tachi," Ma said soothingly, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're dating Shindou's sister."

END


	4. Group Photo

Family Reunions

By: Lily

Rating: G

Summary: Maiko invites Taki to her family reunion.

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Taki shifted uncomfortably under the stares he was receiving. He wasn't sure why he'd agrred to take a family photo with his new girlfriend. He wasn't even sure why he'd decided to go to her reunion. Maiko, however, seemed perfectly happy, while her brother and his boyfriend sat in the corner glaring at him. Taki could tell already that this day would not be fun at all.

"Okay! Let's get together in the back yard!" Maiko's uncle called. The rest of the family obeyed, leaving Taki alone. Maiko was on her way out as well, but she stopped and headed back to him, frowning.

"I can't do this," he stated once the rest of the family was outside. "Everyone in your family hates me."

"Not everyone!" Maiko protested, standing in front of him.

"Most of them." Maiko gave him a look. "Your brother hasn't stopped glaring at me since we got here."

"Well, he can deal for one day," she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Taki raised an eyebrow, confused.

"You mean you don't mind?" he asked.

"Nope!" she shook her head. "I deal with his jerk of a boyfriend, he can deal with mine! Besides, that was years ago."

"Thanks…" Taki smiled. "…you really think I'm a jerk?"

"They're waiting for us," Maiko told him, taking his hand and pulling him outside, obviously ignoring his question by choice. "Let's go, Taki-kun!"

END


	5. Lyrics

Music of the Heart

By: Lily

Rating: G

Summary: Taki is having difficulty writing lyrics. Maiko comes home to give him a little bit of inspiration.

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Taki tossed his pen and notebook down, growling in frustration. It just wouldn't come. There was no inspiration. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get his lyrics to be any good. He leaned forward, resting his head on the table. It really was no use.

He heard the door open and close, but he ignored it. He knew who it was anyway. He heard the person walk into the dining room, then stop, undoubtedly assessing the situation.

"Taki-kun?" Maiko asked, her voice full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"It's hopeless," he muttered into the table.

"Well… of course it is," Maiko told him. "You're not going to get anything done while you're staring at the table like that."

"That's not what I mean," he told her, lifting his head slightly to rest his chin now. "I can't write the damn lyrics. How the hell are we supposed to cut a record deal if our stuff is shit?"

Maiko was silent for a moment. Then, she pulled out a chair, sitting down next to him. She placed a gentle hand on his back, slowly moving it in a circle to soothe him.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked. Taki frowned in irritation, though mostly because he wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't know exactly what was wrong, he just knew he didn't like it.

"They… just won't come…" he muttered.

"Then you're trying too hard," she told him. He glanced up at her and frowned.

"Trying too hard?" he demanded. "How…"

"Don't think so much. You just have to let them come," she explained. She used his shoulders to pull him up and then poked a spot on his chest. "From here." He frowned and placed his hand where her finger had just been. There, he felt the soft, steady beating of his heart.

"You mean that's it?" he asked.

"That's it," she told him. "You just have to think of something that makes you happy. It'll come to you." Taki let a small smile appear, half to cover the embarrassment of not figuring that out sooner, but half of it really was genuine.

"I think I have my inspiration."

END


	6. Nerdy

Even Nerds Can Dance

By: Lily

Rating: PG-13 for provocative dancing and innuendos

Summary: Taki is determined to prove Maiko wrong, no matter what it takes.

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Taki examined himself in the mirror and grinned. He looked perfect. Perfectly sexy. He was determined to prove Maiko wrong. The previous day, Maiko had stated that being a singer was 'nerdy.' He was going to prove her wrong by showing her how sexy he could be, since nerds certainly weren't sexy. He fixed his hair once more before she knocked on the door. He walked over and opened it.

"Hey, baby," he greeted, stepping aside to let her into the apartment. Maiko smiled and stepped in, glancing around.

"You have a nice place," she told him, smiling. "So… what exactly did you want to show me?"

"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday," he told her, leaning forward to give her a kiss.

"What did I say yesterday?" she asked, returning the kiss but regarding him with curiosity.

"You told me that singers are nerdy," he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," she giggled. "Well, you are."

"Am not," he protested. "I'll prove it to you." He kissed her again and pushed her gently so that she was sitting on the couch. He turned the music on and began to dance. That was one thing he took great pride in: his dancing. He could see the grin spread over her face as he began to move his hips. At one point, he straddled her and ground his hips down into her's. She wanted him, after all was said and done and he knew it, but first she'd have to admit that she was wrong. When the music stopped, he grinned down at her, his arms positioned on either side of her waist.

"Well?" he asked breathlessly, hovering over her.

"Sexy," she admitted. "But I still think you're a nerd." That wiped the triumphant grin from his face and he stared down at her incredulously.

"What? Why?" he frowned as she leaned up to kiss him.

"You've dedicated your life to music. Anybody who does that is a big nerd. Besides…" she grinned and kissed him again. "I like nerds."

END


	7. Deathfic

_Comfort_

**By**: Lily

**Rating**: PG

**Summary**: Maiko calls Taki for comfort after… somebody dies…

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Taki sighed softly to himself. He'd only been with his girlfriend a couple weeks and already he was being called in for comforting duty. He wasn't even sure what he was comforting her about. All he knew was that she'd called him, sobbing, begging him to come over because… somebody had died. He knew he should be more sensitive, but if it was her brother, he said good riddance. No, that was mean. He wouldn't say that.

Taki ran a hand through his hair before knocking on Maiko's door. He wasn't the best with comforting people. Ma-kun could vouch for that. When his mother had died, Taki made himself scarce rather than hanging around all the time, like Ken had. He'd been forgiven, though. So it was all okay.

The door was opened and Taki frowned, stepping inside. "Maiko?"

"Hey…" She came out from behind the door and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying he face in his chest.

"Hey…" he repeated, hesitantly wrapping his arms around her and patting her awkwardly on the head. "Don't worry… everything's going to be okay…"

"I… I know…" she sniffed. "But he was so special to me…"

"Shh… it's okay. Um…" he frowned, trying to think of something nice to say. "Don't think about this. Think about… all the good times you had together." Wow, that was lame. However, she sniffled again, but looked as though she'd smiled.

"Thanks, Taki-kun… I feel a little better now," she said. "Do you want to help me bury him?" Taki's eyes shot open.

"Huh?"

"Mr. Buns. Do you want to help me bury him?"

"Mr… Buns?" he asked, frowning.

"Yeah… my rabbit… who died…" she tilted her head to look up at him.

"Oh… yeah. I, um… don't remember you telling me his name." A rabbit? Was this fucking serious? "Yeah. I'll help you out."

END


	8. Control Freak

In Control

By: Lily

Rating: PG

Summary: Taki shows up to help Maiko with her spring cleaning and gets an unexpected surprise.

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Taki groaned softly to himself and rang the bell. He really couldn't believe he agreed to help Maiko do her spring cleaning, even two months after they'd broken up. Why she needed his help in the first place was beyond him. He was about to turn around and leave when the door opened. To his surprise, however, it wasn't Maiko who answered the door, but Ayaka. She made a face and opened the door wider.

"_You're_ here?" she demanded. Taki shoved his hands in his pockets, pushing past her and into the house.

"Yeah, great to see you too, Ayame."

"Ayaka," she corrected, but he ignored her.

"Whatever," he glanced around. "Where's Maiko?"

"She went shopping," Ayaka stated, bitterly, shutting the door behind him.

"You mean I'm stuck here with just _you_ for company?" he grimaced.

"This isn't a picnic for me either," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What does she want us to do?" Taki asked, changing the subject so that it wouldn't become any more unpleasant than it already was.

"Clean the kitchen," she told him, pointing. "Then we need to hook up the T.V."

"The hell?" he groaned. "Fine… shit…" Taki ran a hand through his hair and looked away from the girl in the room.

"This is weird," she said.

"You're telling me," Taki agreed. "Why'd she call us if she wasn't planning to stay herself?"

"She wanted someone to do it _for_ her," Ayaka told him. "She likes to be in control. _You_ should know that." She paused for a moment before letting out a frustrated cry. "I'm so mad… and now _you're_ here!"

"How do you think I feel? I'm with my ex's new… girlfriend," Taki grimaced. "Feel like drinking lighter fluid too?" Taki crossed his arms, smirking as Ayaka looked surprised at his question. "Or maybe just turn the gas on and light a match?"

"You… I… what?"

"Thought so." Taki smirked and moved over to the T.V. to see if he could fix it.

"When you two were together did you… follow her around… like a lovesick puppy?" she sounded so ashamed, Taki just couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, you bet. Glad I'm past that." She frowned.

"Did she ever… you know… flirt with other boys?"

"Bingo, baby," she stated, grinning, fiddling with the wires. "Looks like you've got it bad."

"I feel sick…"

"Better you than me," he said, standing up, using the remote to turn on the T.V.

"Fixed. Boy, am I glad she doesn't have me by the balls anymore." He tossed the remote onto the couch.

"Thanks…" Taki turned then and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"Home," he stated, smirking back at her. "I just remembered that I'm not attached anymore." He flashed her another grin before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

END


	9. Star

**Daily Routines**

_By_: Lena108

_Rating_: G

_Summary_: Taki muses on what could have been.

_A/N_: More for my fic challenges, finally. Review guys!

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"I could have been a star…" Maiko lifted her head, abandoning the book she was reading for just a second, to regard her boyfriend with curiosity.

"Come again?" she asked.

"I could have been famous. The best in Japan. People would adore me and we'd be living an amazing lifestyle," he told her, his hand gestures big, to symbolize the elaborate life.

"Oh, geez… Taki, not this again," she sighed, making a crease in the page she was reading before closing the book. He, however, went on, ignoring her plea.

"No, I mean it. I could have. Interviews everyday, parties, famous people left and right, even Ryuichi Sakuma begging for my autograph…" Maiko buried her face in her hands as Taki continued on with his elaborate daydream. He got like this often, allowing Maiko to believe he wasn't as 'cool' as he often said he was.

"Taki, please, this is getting ridiculous…"

"You know it, babe. If it only weren't for that brother of yours."

"Don't bring Shuichi into this," she told him, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "It's your own fault that you let jealousy get the better of you. You stooped to a low level and that's entirely your fault. Nothing he did was wrong. He only wanted to make it like you did."

This shut him up. Taki knew she was right. Hell, Maiko was always right, especially when he got in one of these moods. She always knew the right thing to say to shoot him down. He sat down and sighed softly, feeling moody now.

"Still…" he grumbled. "If he hadn't appeared at all."

"We never would have met," she reminded him. He frowned and looked away from her. "Remember? We met at Shuichi's concert. I stopped you from single handedly ruining the whole thing. Now look at us."

"Yeah… romantic…" he sighed. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"It doesn't have to be romantic. I like it this way better," she told him.

"You do?" he asked, almost sounding worried. He had never been a romantic person, that's why dating had always been kind of hard for him.

"Absolutely," she assured him. "You're a star to me." He smiled at her, a real smile. She returned it and picked her book up again, just as she always did when these situations came and went as they did. Routines got boring, but if that was what he needed, she'd continue to do it for him.

END


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